This program is open only to students in the B.Arts Faculty Program Environment.
How does economics influence the decisions we make as a society about resource extraction and waste management?
The resources necessary for human society are extracted from the Earth, used as raw materials in our factories and refineries, and then returned to the Earth as waste. Human society is dependent upon geological processes and the resources they produce. Our use of resources creates waste, and geologic processes determine the fate of wastes in the environment. Understanding Earth's geologic processes provides us with the knowledge to mitigate many of our society's environmental impacts due to resource extraction and waste disposal. This knowledge is not always enough because economics in society often plays a controlling role in how we use and abuse our environment. Economics frequently affects what energy sources power our society and how our wastes are treated. Economics also contributes to our understanding of how we value Earth's environment. Earth sciences and economics are essential for our understanding of the many mechanisms that affect Earth's environment.
This Concentration educates students in the fundamentals of each discipline. The student's education in economics provides the fundamentals of this discipline and their application to the resultant effects of economic choices on Earth's environment. Examples of these applications include the economic effects of public policy towards resource industries and methods of waste disposal, and the potential effects of global warming on the global economy. Students learn of minerals, rocks, soils and waters which define much of Earth's environment and how these materials interact with each other and with the atmosphere. Courses in specific subdisciplines of Earth Sciences combined with courses presenting a global vision of how the Earth and its environment operate provide the student with the necessary knowledge of geologic processes. Examples of this knowledge include the effects of mineral and energy extraction on the environment and how industrial waste interacts with solids and liquids in the environment. The Earth Science and economics pedagogic paths merge in the final year when the students apply what they have learned in the Concentration to current environmental issues. In addition, students are required to take an introductory-level Ecology course, and have options to take courses in Sociology, Anthropology, Geography, Biology, and Engineering that are relevant to the Domain.
Pre-requisite or Co-requisite Courses for Program
To graduate from the Faculty Program in Environment, students are required to complete two pre-/co-requisite courses. These courses should be completed by the end of your U1 year. These 100-level courses, if taken exclusively for the purpose of fulfilling this program pre-/co-requisite requirement, may be taken using the Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory Option. Contact the Bieler School of Environment's Program Adviser for more information.
Numeracy course:
One of the following courses, or equivalent (e.g. CEGEP objective OOUN) -
MATH 139. Calculus 1 with Precalculus.
MATH 140. Calculus 1.
AND Science course:
One of the following science courses, or equivalent (e.g. CEGEP objective Chemistry OOUL) -
AECH 110. General Chemistry 1.(M)
CHEM 110. General Chemistry 1.
Note: AECH 110 is the pre-req for one of this Domain's Required courses, EPSC 210
See also Information for students for details concerning:
- Majors and Concentrations
- Suggested First Year courses
- Taking courses Outside your Faculty or on the "Other" campus (Science students, in particular, need to be aware of the Restricted Courses list)
- ENVR course sections - beware!
- Numeracy requirement for B.A. Faculty Program Environment students
- Statistics course(s) overlap
- Your Faculty's Student Affairs Office
Program Requirements
NOTE: Students are required to take a maximum of 34 credits at the 200 level and a minimum of 12 credits at the 400 level or higher in this program. This includes Core and Required courses.
Core: Required Courses (18 credits)
ENVR 200. The Global Environment.
ENVR 201. Society, Environment and Sustainability.
ENVR 202. The Evolving Earth.
ENVR 203. Knowledge, Ethics and Environment.
ENVR 301. Environmental Research Design.
ENVR 400. Environmental Thought.
Core: Complementary Course — Senior Research Project
(3 credits*)
AEBI 427. Barbados Interdisciplinary Project. (6 cr) (M) (in Barbados)
ENVR 401. Environmental Research. (3 cr)
ENVR 451. Research in Panama. (6 cr) (in Panama)
FSCI 444. Barbados Research Project. (6 cr) (in Barbados)
* Only 3 credits will be applied to the program; extra credits will count as electives.
Concentration: Required courses (15 credits)
ECON 230D1. Microeconomic Theory.
ECON 230D2. Microeconomic Theory.
ECON 405. Natural Resource Economics.
EPSC 210. Introductory Mineralogy.
EPSC 240. Geology in the Field.
Concentration: Complementary courses (18 credits)
3 credits of Statistics:
AEMA 310. Statistical Methods 1. (M)
GEOG 202. Statistics and Spatial Analysis.
MATH 203. Principles of Statistics 1.
or equivalent such as PSYC 204. Introduction to Psychological Statistics.
6 credits of Economics:
AGEC 333. Resource Economics. (M)
ECON 209. Macroeconomic Analysis and Applications.
ECON 326. Ecological Economics.
ECON 347. Economics of Climate Change.
ECON 416. Topics in Economic Development 2.
ECON 511. Energy, Economy and Environment. (not offered 2024-2025)
9 credits of Advanced Courses chosen from two Areas:
Area 1: Development / Environmental Management
*Note: You can take ENVB 529 or GEOG 201 but not both; you can take BIOL 451 or NRSC 451 but not both; you can take ANTH 451 or GEOG 451 but not both.
AEBI 423. Sustainable Land Use. (M) (in Barbados)
AGRI 550. Sustained Tropical Agriculture. (M) (offered alternate years, in Panama)
ANTH 451. Research in Society and Development in Africa.* (in Africa)
BIOL 451. Research in Ecology and Development in Africa.* (in Africa)
ECON 305. Industrial Organization.
ECON 313. Economic Development 1.
ECON 314. Economic Development 2.
ECON 408. Public Sector Economics 1.
ECON 409. Public Sector Economics 2.
ENVB 437. Assessing Environmental Impact. (M)
ENVB 529. GIS for Natural Resource Management.* (M)
ENVR 421. Montreal: Environmental History and Sustainability. (offered alternate years, May term)
ENVR 422. Montreal Urban Sustainability Analysis. (offered alternate years, May term)
GEOG 201. Introductory Geo-Information Science.*
GEOG 302. Environmental Management 1.
GEOG 340. Sustainability in the Caribbean.
GEOG 404. Environmental Management 2. (in Africa)
GEOG 451. Research in Society and Development in Africa.* (in Africa)
GEOG 498. Humans in Tropical Environments. (offered alternate years, in Panama)
HIST 510. Environmental History of Latin America (Field). (offered alternate years, in Panama)
MIME 320. Extraction of Energy Resources.
NRSC 451. Research in Ecology and Development in Africa.* (M) (in Africa)
Area 2: Environmental Resources
*Note: You can take BREE 217 or GEOG 322; you can take ENVB 305 or BIOL 308.
ATOC 341. Caribbean Climate and Weather.
BIOL 308. Ecological Dynamics.*
BIOL 343. Biodiversity in the Caribean.
BREE 217. Hydrology and Water Resources.* (M)
ENVB 305. Population and Community Ecology.* (M)
EPSC 355. Sedimentary Geology. (offered winter 2025 and alternate winters)
EPSC 549. Hydrogeology.
GEOG 305. Soils and Environment.
GEOG 322. Environmental Hydrology.*
SOIL 300. Geosystems. (M) (not offered)